Automobile front axle.



SA R. RAIVISAY.

AUTOMOBILE FRONT AXLE.

APPLICATION FILED IuLY 28,1916.

Patented May 22, 1917.

UNITED STATES) PATENT oEEIoi-z.`

SAMUEL E. BAIIsA'Y, or NEW WEsTMINsTEE, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA; AssIeiron. or oNE-EIGIITLI To LEoNAED WILsoN, oE NEW wEsTMINsTEa, BEITIsH coLUnIBIA,

CANADA.

AUTOMOBILE EBoNT AxLE.

Patented May 22, 1917.!

Application led July 28, 1916. Serial No. 111,903. E

To all whom t may concern.'

Be lit known-that, I, SAMUEL R. RAMsAr, a citizen of theUnited States, and a resident of the city of New Westminster, 1n the province of British Columbia, Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automobile Front Axles, of which the following is a specification. My invention relates to'improvements m automobile front axles, and the object of my invention is to provide an axle in which the steering Wheel is pivotally mounted 1n such wa manner that the axis about `which the Wheel turns is in the plane of` the wheel center and in which the load is centrally distributed on the pivot; A further object is to devise an axle in which the connection of the steering wheel thereto has the number of parts reduced to the minimum and of the simplest construction, thereby providing for the maximum facility in assembling` and disassembling, and at the same time considerably reducing the cost of construction, thus providing an axle which is simple, practical, lnexpenslve, and hi hly efiiclent.

I attain these objects by the construction illustrated in the accompanying drawings in Which- Figure 1 is a front view of an end portion of 'a front axle and the hub of a steering Wheel embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a side view of Fig. 1, looking on the hub cap.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view, taken on the longitudinal center line of Fig. l.

Fig. 4 is a detail View of the sleeve.

Fig. 5 is a detail View of the yoke, in side elevation.

Fig. 6 is an end view of the yoke assembled on the axle, theaxle being shown in section.

Fig. 7 is a axle.

Similar figures of reference indicate similar parts throughout the several views.

1 indicates the axle the crossv section of which, as shownpin Fig. 6, is similar to that of automobile axles in common use at the present time, although it may be of any other form. The end of the axle is preferably rounded and provided with a vertical plan view of' the end of the I opening 2, as shown in Fig. 7, the center of which opening lies in the plane of the wheel center and coincides with the vertical axis about which it turns, and into which opening,r from the opposite ends thereof, are fitted the bushings 3 and 4, which :bushings are provided with flanges 5 and 6 respectively, and which flanges bearrespectively on the u per and lower sides of thel when the bushings are in place. These b s lngs are preferably of brass, Babbitt metal,

or the like, and mounted on the flanges 5 and 6 are steel disks or washers 7 and 8,

which disks are provided on their outer faces 66 with projections 9 adapted to fit suitable depressions formed in the yoke hereinafter mentioned so that they, the disks 7 and :8, Will turn with the yoke when same is actuated, as hereinafter described. The bore's ,'l

of the disks, when assembled, are concentric with the bores of the bushings 3 and 4, and the disks, it may be here stated, are provided for the purpose of taking'the wear which would ot erwise come directly on theyoke..

Mounted on the axle 1, in the manner shown in Fig. 3, is a yoke member 10, formed generally as shown in Figs. .3, 5 and 6, and having a substantially horizontal bearing surface 11. and an extension 12 80 which extension is threaded at its outer end to receive a nut 13. Openings 14 and 15, indicated dotted in Fig. 5, are provided in each leg of the yoke, and these openings are concentric with each other yand with the 35 Abores of the washers 7 and 8 and bushin 3 and 4. A pivot pin 16 'connects the yo Ae to the axle, the pin being rotatably mounted in the lbushings 3 and 4 and having its ends tting the openings 14 and 15 and .being 90 rigidly secured to the yoke by means of the dowel pin 17. Provision is made for lubricatin the bushings 3 and 4 by means of a suitable channel 18 in the pin, which channel is in connection with a channel 19 95 formed in the upper leg of the yoke and adapted to be fed by a suitable lubricator 20, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. 21 indicates an eye formed on the yoke, as shown, which eye receives the steering rod.

A sleeve 22 provided With a flange 30 vis. mounted on the horizontal bearing surface 11 of the yoke 10, being fitted tightly thereon, and on this sleeve is itted thel roller bearing 23, the rollers of which are-in the l plane of the wheel and also of the pin 16, a similar roller bearing 24 being fitted on the extension 12 of the yoke, as shown in Fig. 3. These roller bearings maybe of any suitable type, such as the Timken roller".

bearing 24 between flange 28 and nut 13 threaded on to thev extension 12 of 4the yoke. The flange 28 also serves to maintain'the hub in position, bearing` as it does against the roller bearing 24. 29 indicates a hub cap threaded on to the outer end of the Y hub and inclosing the nut 13 and roller bearing 24.

From the foregoing description the operai tion 4of the device will be clearly understood,

' .as it will be apparent, on refe-rence being made to Fig. 3, that, as the pivot 16 is se'- cured into the yoke 10 and rotatable in the bushings 3 and 4, the yoke will swing in either direction when actuated by the steering rod connected to the eye 21, and thus the wheel will be moved laterally to they' right or left according to the direction in which the steering rod is actua-ted. The facility with which the parts may be assembled or disassembled will be obvious, as by the removal of the cap 29 and4 nut 13 the wheel may be immediately and quickly removed, its replacement being accomplished as easily and quickly. Again, should it be desired to disconnect the entire device from the axle', all that is necessary is to remove the wheel as stated, drive back the sleeve 22, exposing the pivot 16, whichv may then be easily driven out of the yoke 10.

It will thus be `seen that I havedevised a front axle for automobiles in which the wheelis pivotally mounted to Vturn about an axls in the plane of its center and in` which the load is centrally distributed on the pivot, and which axle is of the simplest construction, capable of being quickly and easily assembled or disassembled, and which is practical, inexpensive and highly efficient.

What I claim as my invention 1s:

The combination with an axle having a vertical opening near its outer end, of a yoke member 'mounted on said axle to turn about va vertical axis, said yoke having v openings at diametricallyy opposite points concentric with the axle opening and with the axis about which it turns, a plain pin disposed in said openings, said pin being fixed in the yoke openings and rotatable in the axle opening, anda tight fitting sleeve mounted on the peripheryof the said yoke member and frictionally held'thereon, said sleeve extending the entire length of the peripheral portion of the yoke member and being iared outwardly at its inner'end to form a flange and flared inwardly at .its

-outer end tovbear on the endof1 the yoke member.

Dated at Vancouver,

B. C., this 17th day of July, 1916.

SAMUEL R. RAMSAY. 

